The movement towards greater energy efficiency and “greener” technologies has had a large impact in the area of building construction, both in the residential and commercial context. One area of continued focus is the lighting used in such buildings. There is a growing trend of utilizing LED (light emitting diode) type lighting in both the residential and commercial context, given the decreased power consumption and longer service life of such lighting.
As one particular example, there is a growing trend of utilizing LED type light sources in recessed lighting fixtures. A typical recessed lighting fixture will have a housing that extends into a ceiling, typically. The housing has a bottom face that is generally flush with ceiling. An opening is formed in the bottom face, which leads into a recess of the housing. An LED light source is positioned within the recess. Such assemblies have been readily adopted given their reduced power consumption and longer service life. They may be utilized in new construction, or as a retrofit of an existing recessed light that utilizes a conventional filament based bulb as a light source.
However, there are several disadvantages with such assemblies. First, they typically incorporate a power supply that is positioned above the LED light source within the housing. This power supply receives input power from the installation site (e.g. a consumer's residential power grid) and converts it to the particular power supply required by the LED light source. Because the power supply is positioned above the light source, it is generally in a location within the housing that operates at an elevated temperature due to the heat generated by the light source.
Operating in this elevated temperature environment restricts the maximum power output of the power supply, as it must not exceed a specified temperature during normal operation. In other words, given that the power supply is already at an elevated temperature due to its location, the heat generated by the operation of the power supply must not elevate the operating temperature of the power supply beyond the aforementioned limit. As a result, the overall maximum power output of the power supply must be carefully reduced and controlled to maintain a safe operating temperature, taking into account the baseline temperature of the power supply due to its location above the light source.
Second, situating the power supply above the light source reduces the distance taken from the light source to the opening of the housing from which light will be emitted. In other words, in order to maintain a generally desirable and standard overall height, additional housing space is sacrificed to make room for the power supply above the light source, thereby situating the light source closer to the opening of the housing. Such a configuration is not desirable because, as the light source moves closer to the opening, the amount of glare produced by the light is increased. Further, as the light source moves closer to the opening, it becomes visible to a consumer at a large range of angles. Seeing the actual light source is aesthetically displeasing, and as stated above, increases the glare produced by the light.
As such, there is a need in the art for a recessed LED lighting fixture that overcomes existing problems in the art by providing a high power output potential, with a reduced glare and improved aesthetics. The invention provides such a recessed LED lighting fixture. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.